Imphal, November 05 2008: Opening the door for a negotiated settlement with the KCP (MC), the SPF Cabinet which met today evening has decided to start a dialogue process with the said outfit soon.

Significantly the decision of the Cabinet comes close on the heels of the formalisation of the Suspension of Agreement with 22 Kuki underground outfits.

According to a senior Cabinet Minister, the Cabinet decided to give the go ahead signal to the proposed talk, after the KCP (MC) sent feelers and inquired whether they would be entitled to the revised scheme of surrenderee rehabilitation policy.

The outfit had also indicated that if the Government's answer is in the affirmative then they would be ready for a dialogue.

The Minister added that the outfit assured that if they are entitled to the surrenderee rehabilitation policy, then they will come out as a group to hold talks with the Government.

Following the feelers, today's Cabinet decided to open the door for a dialogue process, but with the rider that it should first start at the Chief Secretary's level and as a preliminary stage.

The Minister however did not close which group of the KCP (MC) the Government was referring to.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to the setting up of a centre of the Indira Gandhi University National Tribal University set up in at Amar Kanta in Madhya Pradesh (now in Chattisgarh) in the hill districts of Manipur.

The said university was set up under the Union Human Resources Ministry and the Cabinet decided to pursue the matter with the Union Human Resources Ministry, said the Minister further.

The deadlock surrounding the recruitment of teachers in the Education Department also came up for discussion.

Though a notification was earlier issued to recruit 1590 teachers, it came to light that the actual vacancy was only 1071 and hence the recruitment process was stopped.

After deliberating on the matter, the Cabinet decided to issue a fresh notification to recruit 1071 teachers.

Following this, the Cabinet has directed the Department concerned to verify in which schools the teachers are to be recruited within a week.

The Cabinet has also given the green signal to recruit 1729 primary teachers in the schools run under the district councils in the hill districts.

To avoid any overlapping the Cabinet has also issued strict directives to bar the transfer of one teacher from one district to another.

Accordingly, the teachers will be recruited on the basis of district cadres.

Section 22 (2) of the Manipur Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 will also be amended to allow the administrative committee to run the affairs of the Gram Panchayats of Koubru Leikha, Kalapahar, Turibari and Santalbari for another 18 months.

These Gram Panchayats were put under the administrative council as elections could not be held.

The Cabinet also decided to appoint employees on contract basis in the ITI of Ukhrul and Imphal following the introduction of seven new trades under funding from the World Bank.

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